Duke Friedrich had left him in the lurch; the Kunok were on their way to Bulgaria, wasting and burning as they went; and now King Béla saw the mistake he had made in not exerting his utmost power to defend Kuthen. The banderia (troops) expected from both sides of the Tisza (Theiss) did not arrive, eagerly as they were expected. The Bishop of Csanád, and nobles from Arád, and other places, had indeed been hastening to Pest with their followers, but on the way they had encountered the outraged and enraged Kunok. Knowing nothing of what had been taking place in the capital, they were unprepared for hostilities, and when the Kunok fell upon them, some were cut off from the rest of the force, and some were cut down. All things seemed to be in a conspiracy against the King and the country, and one blow followed another. It was not until the Kunok had crossed into Bulgaria, leaving a trail of desolation behind them that the Bishop of Nagyvárad (Grosswardein) could venture to lead his banderium towards Pest; and the banderium of the county of Bihar was in the same case. Now, however, they were hurrying forward, when the Mongols, who knew of their coming, put themselves in their way. The Bishop attacked what appeared to be but a small force of them; the Mongols retreated, fighting. The Hungarians, who did not as yet understand their enemy's tactics, pursued. Suddenly the Mongols turned and fell upon them, and but few escaped to tell the story of the disaster. By this time some 60,000 or 70,000 men were assembled in Pest, against the 300,000 or more under the command of Batu Khan; but of those who had put in an appearance, few were likely to be very serviceable as commanders. The nation had to a great extent lost the military qualities which had distinguished it before, and which distinguished it again afterwards. The masses were no longer called upon for service, and the nobles, not being bound to serve beyond the frontier, had become unused to war. There was plenty of blind self-confidence, little knowledge or experience. The King was no general; and although Duke Kálmán and Bishop Ugrin were distinguished for their personal valour and courage, neither they nor any of the other leaders had an idea of what war on a large scale really was.